CONfusion CONtinued
by DaAmazingMeepers
Summary: Things are looking great between Andria and Yami. But when Randy's mother finds out about their relationship, will they be able to stay together? Will they even be able to see each other ever again? YamixOC. Read CONfusion before reading this one.
1. Chapter 1: Conventional Plans

Whelp, I'm back! That certainly didn't take long! Now, I had had some people complain that there weren't enough card games in CONfusion. However, I assure you, there will be card games in this one, guaranteed. Here's to hoping you like this one as much as the first one!

Oh, and also, I have decided that the due date for all entries for the Randy & Yami contest is July 4th. Have fun!=D

Disclaimer; I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! I am not getting any money out of this; this is just for your and my personal pleasure (shoot, that sounds kinda kinky.o/./o).

.:.:.

Chapter 1: Conventional Plans

Randy and Yami were snuggling under a tree. A cool breeze was blowing, carrying the scent of cinnamon rolls. A couple of penguins flew by, and a bunch of purple flowers were singing an Italian lullaby…

Wait a minute, what?

That's right, they were in their dreamland, brought into being by the connection spell that Marik had placed on them almost a year ago. Since that day, they had grown to know and love each other more than ever before. They did many things together in their little dreamland, including ninja training, battling aliens, and riding dragons. Virtually anything could happen there, and they were surprised each time.

However, tonight they were just enjoying a quiet moment and discussing what had happened at school that day. Yami had started going to Domino High School upon his return to his dimension, saying that he was Yugi's long lost twin brother. Several girls had since then asked him out, but to each one he had responded, "Sorry, but I have a girlfriend."

Marik had also used the separating spell on Bakura once he had gotten his energy back up, and the, ahem, not-as-nice Bakura had come to a truce between Yami and everyone else in the group. He had started going to school, same as Yami, and he lived with Ryou. He had even gotten himself a job as – of all things – a model. Someone had seen him and Ryou in a café and scouted both of them. They had quite a following.

As for Randy, she had returned to her own home about five hours from Aunt Cher's house. She went to her school same as always and spoke to the same people she always spoke to. However, if you were to ask her friends, they would tell you that she seemed a bit…spacier than usual.

Her seventeenth birthday had happened recently, and Yami had gotten her a necklace similar to the ones that the Kaiba brothers had. It was shaped like a duel monsters card, and opened up to show a picture of Yami. He had one with Randy in it.

Tonight, they were also discussing plans for the future. After all, it was almost time for the convention again. "Are you going to bring anyone with you to the convention?" said Randy, snuggling closer to Yami.

Yami shrugged, absentmindedly petting the top of Randy's head. "I'm not sure. Yugi is a bit behind in his schoolwork, so he'll probably stay behind to catch up, and Anzu won't come unless Yugi does. Jonouchi has been looking for a part-time job, and says he doesn't want to cut into our 'private time'. I haven't asked anyone else yet."

Randy grinned. "Well what are the chances that Kaiba wants to come?"

He chuckled. "Pretty slim. Although I suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask."

She nodded. "Mmhm. Hey, so which costume should I wear? There's the three from last year that you saw, or I could wear one that I made more recently?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You aren't going to tell me what it is?"

She shook her head, grinning evilly. "Nope. All I'm going to tell you is the character will be very familiar."

He sighed dramatically. "Well you know that now I'm going to be curious, so you're going to have to wear that costume."

She nodded. "I thought so."

He chuckled. "I wonder what costume I should go in?"

She hugged him. "I haven't the foggiest."

He hugged her back. "I just thought of something. Does your mom know about us yet?"

She seemed to wilt a little. "No, I haven't told her yet. If I do, she'll quite possibly kill me. I think I'll wait until I'm old enough to live on my own."

He rubbed her shoulder soothingly. "She wouldn't really kill you…would she?"

She grimaced. "You've never seen her when she's truly angry. It's a terrifying thing. Trust me, it's better that she doesn't know just yet."

He sighed. "Alright, I just feel bad for keeping secrets from your mother."

She rolled her eyes. "Once you get to know her, you won't feel bad at all."

"Is she truly that horrible?" he asked, surprised by the loathing Randy always seemed to show for her own mother.

Randy curled up tighter, nuzzling against Yami. "Well, I told you about how my dad left my mom for another woman, right?"

He nodded.

"Well ever since then, she's forbid me from talking to boys on the phone, visiting boys, or having them visit me. Even on my seventh birthday she wouldn't let me invite any boys to my party. It's a miracle that she even let me come to the convention in the first place."

Yami was shocked. "How can she stand to send you to school?"

She chuckled darkly. "She can't, really. If she wasn't so concerned for my education, she wouldn't at all. Thankfully, no one's told her about homeschooling yet."

He shook his head. "To do all that seems pretty extreme."

She shrugged. "I guess she really loved him. When he left it broke her heart and drove her a little crazy."

He gave her a sad look. "And what about you? How bad were you hurt by his leaving?"

She shrugged again. "Actually, I wasn't that upset. I was really too young to understand what was going on. Truth be told, I couldn't care less about him at the moment. I mean, if he came back to find me and wanted to spend some time with me, I guess I would do it, just because he's my dad. But I don't think he will; he's too happy with his new life to care about those who were a part of his old one."

He hugged her comfortingly. "Well, I'm glad you don't share your mother's views."

She hugged him back. "And I'm glad you're not gay!"

He gave her a weird look. "What?"

"Fanfictions."

"Oh…ew…"

Suddenly, Randy started to fade. "Uh oh, looks like my alarm's going off. I'll see you tonight?"

Yami kissed her on the forehead. "You know it."

"Okay then, bye!" she said. And with that, she disappeared.

Yami sighed as he began to fade too. "Another boring day without Randy. But just one week and that will change."

And then he disappeared too.

.:.:.

Afternote: Okay guys, I'm sorry this is so short, but I ran out of ideas for this chapter. However, I assure you that the next one will be longer. See you soon, and remember; no reviews, no new chapter!

~DaAmazingMeepers=3


	2. Chapter 2: Return to Fantasticon

Hellooooo! It's good to be back! This chapter will be longer than the last one, so be happy!

Disclaimer; I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, or any of the other fandoms mentioned in this story. I am not getting any money out of this; this is just for your and my personal pleasure.

.:.:.

Chapter 2; Return to Fantasticon

Randy and her mother were almost to Aunt Cher's house. It felt good to be going back to the convention again – not just because of the fun activities and the chance to meet famous voice actors, but because she would get to see Yami again. True, they had their little dream rendezvous', but that just wasn't the same as seeing him live and in person.

Finally, they pulled around the last corner and into Aunt Cher's driveway. Cher was waiting by the front door. The moment the car stopped, Randy jumped out of the car and ran to give Cher a hug. "How're you doin', kid?" asked Aunt Cher upon hugging Randy. "Your costume looks great!"

Randy grinned. "Thanks Aunt Cher! Did you fix my room up the way I asked?"

"Yup, covered practically floor to ceiling with Yu-Gi-Oh memorabilia. There's even a giant poster of Yami right over your bed."

Randy jumped up and down excitedly. "Thanks so much! I can't wait to see it!"

Cher ruffled her wig. "Maybe later – the opening ceremonies are going to start in a half-an-hour, so we should probably get going."

"Does that mean you're taking her?" called Randy's mother from the car where she was pulling suitcases out of the trunk.

Cher winked at Randy. To Mrs. Henderson, she said, "Yeah, that way you get plenty of r&r after a five hour drive."

Randy's mother sighed with relief. "Good, because I need it!"

Cher rolled her eyes and muttered, "No need to thank me."

Randy tugged on Cher's sleeve. "Let's go, I want to meet the others before the opening ceremonies."

They started to get into Cher's Volkswagen van, when suddenly Cher paused. "Wait, do you have your license yet?"

Randy nodded. "Yeah, I just got it recently."

Cher stood to the side. "You're driving then."

Randy's eyes got wide. "Awesome! I've always wanted to drive this thing!"

Once they were both buckled, Randy pulled out of the driveway and headed for the convention. Cher grinned. "Nice going. So, who all are you meeting there?"

Randy stayed focused on the road while talking. "Well, obviously Yami, and Marik has to come, because he's the one opening the portals. And then the only other two who could come are Yami Bakura, and – believe it or not – Kaiba."

Cher stared at Randy in shock. "Kaiba? Really? How'd that happen?"

Randy chuckled. "I know, I couldn't believe it at first either!"

_Flashback_

"_Kaiba__ wants to come?" Randy said in surprise. She and Yami were in their dream world. "What did you bribe him with?"_

_Yami chuckled. "Nothing, actually. He wants to learn more about your dimension. At least, that's the excuse he gave."_

_Randy raised an eyebrow. "What happened to, 'There's nothing in this dimension that's even remotely interesting'?"_

_Yami shrugged. "Secretly, I think he just wants to meet more of his fangirls."_

_Randy laughed. "Well, he'll certainly get to do that."_

_End flashback_

Cher had to laugh at Randy's recap. "That sounds just like Kaiba. Well, at least he'll be able to find people who actually like him."

Randy nodded. "True, true."

They spent the rest of the drive discussing various events in their lives. Finally, they arrived at the hotel where the convention was being held. They got out and Cher and Randy hugged goodbye. "See you later, kiddo," said Cher. "I'll pick you up around eleven."

Randy grinned. "Thanks, Aunt Cher. Bye!"

And with that, Aunt Cher drove away, leaving Randy all by her lonesome. She went inside the hotel and got her nametag. Then she decided to see if any of her friends were there yet. The first one she found was Natalie. This year she was dressed as Rukia, from Bleach. "Natalie!" she called.

Natalie turned around and smiled when she saw Randy. "Wow, I didn't recognize you at first!" she said. "Your costume looks great!"

They hugged each other. "Thanks," said Randy. "Yours does too! Is that your real hair?"

Natalie nodded. "I thought I'd do an easier costume this year. Chance and I coordinated costumes. He's coming as Renji."

Randy grinned. "That's so sweet! So I take it he's not here yet?"

Natalie looked around. "If he is, I haven't found him yet. I was about to go look for him when you showed up."

Just then, a familiar voice called, "Girls, over here!"

A huge grin spread on Natalie's face as she turned to face Chance in all his Bleachy glory. She ran up to him and glomped him. He kissed her forehead and the cosplayers around them 'aww'ed.

"How you doin', Sugar-bear?" he asked.

Natalie blushed. "Great, now that you're here."

Randy raised an eyebrow. "_Sugar-bear_?"

Chance grinned. "What? Can't I give a cutesy nickname to my girlfriend?"

Randy rolled her eyes. "But Sugar-bear? Honestly? You couldn't do something normal, like 'babe', or 'hot stuff' or something?"

"You're just jealous of my creative ability." He said haughtily.

Randy shook her head. "Oh yeah, that's totally it." She muttered.

Chance shrugged. "Alright then, what does Yami call you? Surely my cutesy nickname can't be worse than his."

Randy blushed and muttered something unintelligible. "What?" said Chance, grinning. "I can't quite hear you!"

"He calls me 'Watashi no koi, okay?" said Randy, blushing harder.

Chance raised an eyebrow. "He calls you a fish?"

Randy rolled her eyes and smacked him upside the head. "No you doofus, it's Japanese for 'my lover'."

Natalie smiled a spaced-out smile. "That's so adorable!"

"I still say it sounds like he's calling her a fish." Chance muttered.

Randy was about to smack him again, when out of the corner of her eye, she spotted something spiky and tri-colored. She turned to look and sure enough, there was her handsome Pharaoh, with Marik, Bakura, and Kaiba along side him. Her heart skipped a beat as she grinned and called, "Yami!"

He finally saw her, and his jaw literally dropped.

.:.

Nothing Yami could have done could ever prepared him for what he saw that day. He stared in shock as Randy came running up to him…in a Dark Magician Girl costume! Like with the Yugi costume, she had almost every detail right. She even had the staff that the Dark Magician Girl always carried around. She finally made it through the rapidly growing crowd and hugged him. "I see you like my costume." She chuckled.

Marik smirked. "You're drooling, Pharaoh."

As Yami came back to reality, Bakura took a small step forward. "So this is the girl you keep talking about, huh?"

Randy glared at him. "Yes, I am, and just FYI, I don't quite trust you fully yet, Mr. Thief King. You do anything that even slightly threatens any of my friends or family, and I'm going to kick your butt straight back to ancient Egypt!"

Bakura burst out laughing. "Oh wow, your girlfriend's got spunk, Pharaoh! Are you sure you want her? I may have to steal her for myself."

Yami glared at him. "Do any such thing, and the Millennium Ring is going straight up your—"

"I was joking, Pharaoh, calm down." Said Bakura, chuckling.

Yami rolled his eyes, and then turned to Randy. "You look beautiful, Randy."

Randy beamed. "You really think so?" she said.

Yami nodded and kissed her on the cheek. "Yes, but then, you would look beautiful in anything."

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Excuse me while I go throw up in a corner."

Randy glared at him. "Can it, jerkwad. If you didn't want to see this kind of stuff, you should have stayed home."

Kaiba glared back. "Who are you to tell me what to—"

"OMIGOSH, IT'S KAIBA!"

Kaiba whirled around to see a mob of fangirls rushing at him. "Run, Kaiba!" yelled Randy.

And run he did. Yami had never seen Kaiba run that fast before. His coat flowing behind him, he dashed across the room and down the hall, the fangirls right behind him. There was a moment of silence, and then everyone in the room burst out laughing. Once everyone had calmed down, Chance and Natalie showed up. "Was that, by any chance, your Kaiba that got chased out of the room just now?" said Chance.

Yami nodded, still chuckling. "Yes indeed. I almost didn't recognize you two. How've you been?"

Chance gave him a 'thumbs up'. "Still puking rainbows. And yourself?"

Yami laughed. "I'm doing well myself."

Bakura had been silently observing Chance and Natalie for a while. At that moment, he said, "Aren't you going to introduce us, Pharaoh?"

Yami blinked. He had forgotten that Marik and Bakura were there, in all honesty. "Chance, Natalie, this is Marik and Bakura. You should remember Marik from last year."

Chance shook Bakura's hand. "So, old Yams brought more role-players from his side of the USA, huh?"

Yami raised an eyebrow and gave Randy a look that said, _"You haven't told him yet?"_

Randy shrugged, looking sheepish. "I never got around to telling him."

Meanwhile, Bakura was grinning a toothy grin. "I do rather enjoy role-playing. The Pharaoh could tell you that much."

Yami glared at him. "We've put the past behind us, Bakura."

Suddenly, Kaiba returned from wherever he had run to escape the fangirls. He was breathing hard, and he glared at the group. "Does no one care that I almost got trampled by a bunch of squealing girls?"

Randy rolled her eyes. "Oh come off it. You deserved it."

Kaiba was fuming. "In what way did I—"

"Okay, I think that's enough." Said Yami, cutting off the argument before it could start. "Let's just enjoy the convention, shall we?"

Randy smiled warmly. "Yeah, let's."

And so the group walked bravely into the heart of the convention.

.:.:.

Afternote; Back in CONfusion, someone asked me to have Kaiba get chased by fangirls. I didn't have it planned for CONfusion, but I did put it in this story. RubyGirl12345, this is for you.=)

Anyhoo, you guys, I am so SO sorry for taking so long to post this chapter! See, I have this thing, where I have to finish typing the chapter that comes after the chapter I want to post before I can post said chapter. It's complicated, I know, but that's the way I am. Anyway, I've been super busy with my new school schedule, and I got stuck in a rut for the chapter after this one, but I did manage to finish it, and I pretty much have the rest of the story mapped out in my head, so it should be faster now, as long as I actually have time to work on it.

See you in the next chappie, and remember, no reviews, no new chapter.

~DaAmazingMeepers=3


	3. Chapter 3: Friends and Fangirls

Wazzup? Meepers is back in the house! Hope you enjooooy!

Disclaimer; I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, or any of the other fandoms mentioned in this story. I am not getting any money out of this; this is just for your and my personal pleasure.

.:.:.

Chapter 3; Friends and Fangirls

The group traveled around the convention, going to different panels, buying stuff in the dealer's room, beating the pants off of everybody in the gaming area, and of course, taking pictures and getting pictures taken of them. Of course, they spent most of the first half-hour avoiding Kaiba's fangirls. However, eventually the fangirls got kicked out for excessive glomping, and then they could all relax.

The first panel they went to after the fangirls were finally gone, was the Dating Game Show. It was even better this year, because this time, Bakura was there. The moment the host asked for volunteers, Bakura grinned and raised his hand. He was immediately picked. Once all the questioning was over, he ended up with number 2, a girl dressed as Allen Walker who seemed to be just as crazy as he was. Her name was Patricia, and she and Bakura ended up going off together after the panel was over. When they met up with Bakura again later, he had her wallet with him. Randy and Yami made him return it.

Of course, Kaiba ended up getting suckered into the dating game as well. He was contestant number 3. Fortunately for him, he didn't get picked. Instead, a Sasuke with cat ears was chosen. It was just as well; Kaiba didn't particularly like the person doing the choosing.

The next panel they went to was the "Guess That Anime Theme Song" game. Chance, Kaiba, and some guy in a schoolgirl uniform ended up duking it out for the first prize – a build-it-yourself Gundam action figure. In the end, Chance ended up surprising them all and winning. He gave it to Natalie, who apparently loved that particular anime.

They tried to avoid going to the dealers' room for the sake of the dealers, but eventually Randy couldn't take I any more and they all headed in so that she could buy anime trinkets. Bakura went in empty handed. He came out with two Totoro sweatshirts, fifteen boxes of pocky, several shiny objects, a Love Hina figurine, and three boxed sets of hentai. Randy and Yami didn't bother trying to make him give it all back.

It was after their little "shopping experience" that Natalie suddenly pulled Randy aside. She had a sort of uncomfortable expression on her face. "Randy, can I ask you something?"

Randy raised an eyebrow. She hoped this wasn't about Chance. "Um, okay…"

Natalie shuffled her feet. "Well, um…what do you want to do? When you're out of college, I mean."

Randy blinked in confusion. "That's it? Why bring this up right now?"

Natalie stared at her feet. She seemed rather depressed. "Well, my mom told me that since I'm in high school I should figure out what I want to do with my life. She keeps giving me brochures for colleges, and always asks me what I want to 'be when I grow up' in front of guests."

Randy groaned. "I hate that question, it makes me feel like a five-year-old!"

Natalie nodded. "I figured if I ask my friends what they want to do, it would help me figure out what I want to do. So what do you want to do?"

Randy pondered this question. To tell the truth, she had never really thought about it before. It had never really been that important to her, and her mother never really pressured her about it. She finally shrugged and said, "I dunno, I guess I'll figure it out once I get to college."

Natalie sighed heavily. "I was afraid you would say that. Half of the people I've talked to say that."

"So why don't you say it too? You don't need to figure it out right now."

Natalie shook her head. "Not according to my mom. If I don't figure out what I'm going to do with my life and what college I want to go to soon, she's going to start ridiculing me in public."

Randy frowned angrily. "That's ridiculous! You're only sixteen, you shouldn't have to decide right now what you want to do!"

Small tears came to Natalie's eyes. "I know, but—"

"Hey, Randy, Nat, you coming?" interrupted Chance.

Randy rolled her eyes and then turned back to Natalie and said, "We'll talk later."

They caught up with the rest of the group, and Randy heaved a sigh, thinking about Natalie's predicament. Yami raised an eyebrow and put an arm around her shoulder. "You okay?"

Randy nodded. "I'm fine, it's Natalie I'm worried about."

He glanced at Natalie, who was posing with Chance for some fangirl with a camera. "What's the matter?"

Randy explained the situation to Yami who was listening with a serious look on his face. When she finished, he frowned. "That isn't right, she should be able to make her decision in her own time."

Randy nodded in agreement. It was then that a question popped into her head that she hadn't thought of before. "Yami, what do you want to do once you're out of college?"

Yami was caught by surprise by her question. "I…I'm not really sure. I only got a body of my own a year ago. I've only just gotten used to doing things like doing my own homework, riding a bike, and using the toaster, even. There are so many possibilities that it seems almost impossible to choose. Yugi wants to take over Grandpa Mutou's shop, Anzu wants to be a dancer, and of course Kaiba has his company to run. But I just haven't found what I want to do yet. I'm supposed to be a senior right now, so I'm supposed to be looking for colleges and all that, but I figure I still have plenty of time for figuring out my future when I actually get there."

Randy grinned. "That's my view on life exactly."

Yami kissed her on the cheek. "Great minds think alike, they say."

Suddenly, Natalie gave a loud squeal and rushed up to Randy. "Look at what one of the panels is!"

Randy glanced at it curiously, and when she saw what Natalie was talking about, she couldn't help squealing herself. "YU-GI-OH ABRIDGED EPISODE SHOWINGS!"

.:.

Yami, Kaiba, and Chance all looked at the squealing girls in confusion. "What the heck is Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged?" asked Chance.

Randy shook her head in exasperation. "I can't believe you don't know, Chance. The Pokemon thing was one thing, but this is ridiculous!"

"Well maybe if you would tell me what it is, I would get a chance to know." replied Chance.

"Basically, this British guy online re-dubs episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh and sort of makes fun of it." Explained Natalie.

Kaiba scowled. "If he makes fun of it, why do you like him?"

Randy grinned. "Because he's hilarious!"

Yami frowned. "I'm confused."

Randy grabbed his hand. "Come on, I'll show you."

And so the group was dragged by Randy and Natalie to the YGO Abridged panel. Luckily, they got there pretty early, so they were able to get seats pretty close to the front. As more people started coming in, Yami whispered to Randy, "What should I expect?"

Randy smirked. "Hilarity." She whispered back.

It was then that the videos started. For a moment, it was silent except for the sound of the video. Then as the jokes started, everyone was laughing almost too loud to hear the videos. Even Kaiba uttered a chuckle every now and then (except, of course, when the jokes were directed at him). They didn't stop until they had watched all forty-eight episodes, with everyone cracking up the whole time. At last, the panel was over. "Well, what did you think?" asked Randy.

Still chuckling, Yami replied, "I have to admit, I did not expect such a thing to be so funny."

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "I didn't appreciate being the butt of so many jokes, but I confess, there were some funny moments."

The group was outside now. Randy and Yami said goodbye to Natalie and Chance as they retreated to their respective hotel rooms. Then, ignoring Kaiba and Marik (who WAS still there, despite the fact that the author herself almost forgot about him) they gazed happily into each other's eyes. As Yami looked into the deep purple pools of her eyes, he felt he could do anything. "Well," said Randy, breaking his concentration, "I suppose I should say goodnight. Aunt Cher is going to get here soon. Are you going to be okay in a cramped hotel room with only Kaiba and Marik for company?"

Yami and the rest of the boys had rented a hotel room, as they figured that it would be too hard to hide their relationship from Randy's mother if they were staying at Aunt Cher's house. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Anyway, if they get out of line, I can always send them to the shadow realm." He chuckled.

Randy giggled. "I'll see you tomorrow, hon."

"Goodnight, Watashi No Koi." He whispered into her ear.

She shivered with pleasure, and then kissed him. He saw fireworks in his mind as their lips intertwined in an exotic dance. After almost thirty seconds of lip lock, they broke away for air and embraced. He felt as if nothing could go wrong in that moment.

Suddenly, Randy gasped. He pulled away from her, worried that he had hurt her somehow, only to find her staring in horror behind him. He turned, and froze. Marching furiously toward them was Randy's mother. She looked ready to kill someone, and knowing her personality, she would probably be quite willing to do just that. He could only think of one thing to say.

"Oh poopy."

.:.:.

Afternote: Oh noes, what will happen to our darling couple? You'll have to wait and find ouuuut!.

Anyhoo, so I went to Aki Con 2010, and you know what that means – it's time for con experiences! And this year I actually did what I say I'll do every year – I finished my Yugi Cosplay! I went as Yugi on Saturday and Sunday. First up, my favorite panel: The Anime Murder Panel, run by my buddy, Thief King Bakura. It was the best one yet. At one point, everyone wearing red died. And then all the Yu-Gi-Oh! characters (including myself AND the host) all died! There was also a lot of inuendos traded back and forth between myself and Bakura. We're just that amazing.

See you next time, and remember: no reviews, no new chapter!

~DaAmazingMeepers =3


	4. Chapter 4: A Mother's Wrath

Hello everybody! I'm back! Still doing school stuff, so updates might be somewhat slow, but at least this one is here! Hope you like!

Disclaimer; I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, or any of the other fandoms mentioned in this story. I am not getting any money out of this; this is just for your and my personal pleasure.

.:.:.

Chapter 4; A Mother's Wrath

The moment she saw her mother's shocked face, Randy knew she was in deep doo doo. Not only had she caught her hugging a boy, but probably had seen them kiss as well. And when the look of shock turned to a look of fury, she knew that someone was going to die. She barely noticed Yami pull out of her embrace and turn to see what she was looking at. She vaguely heard him mutter, "Oh poopy," and she would probably laughed if she wasn't so terrified.

Now her mother was right in front of her, their faces just inches apart. "What EXACTLY do you think you're doing?" asked Loretta furiously.

Randy started stuttering, "M-Mom, I-I thought Aunt Cher w-was supposed to p-pick me up!"

"I wanted to give her a break from driving you everywhere," Loretta glared at Yami. "And I can see that it's a good thing I did!"

Randy took a deep breath and steeled herself against what her mother was sure to say – or rather, yell – in response to what she was about to tell her. "Mom, Yami is my boyfriend."

There was complete silence between them for ten whole seconds, and then Loretta said venomously, "Get in the car."

Randy looked pained. "Mom—"

Loretta grabbed her wrist and started pulling her towards the Jetta. "I said, Get in the car!"

Yami started forward. "Please wait!"

Loretta gave him a look that could wither plants. "Don't touch my daughter, you devil's child!"

And with that, she shoved Randy into the car, got in herself, and drove off. Randy tried getting out before the car started moving, but Loretta locked the doors. "Mom, please, take me back!" Randy said, tears streaming down her face.

Loretta's hands were gripping the steering wheel so hard that her knuckles were turning white. "Absolutely not. You are never to see or talk to that boy again! All your life, I've tried to protect you from boys, and this is how you repay me? How long has this been going on?"

"A year," Randy sobbed. "Mom, please, Yami isn't like dad was, he—"

"Did I say anything about that man?" interrupted Loretta, spitting out the words, 'that man' as if they were poisonous. "You aren't going back, and that's FINAL!"

No matter how much Randy pleaded or begged the rest of the way back to Aunt Cher's house, her mother wouldn't give way. They got back to the house and Loretta dragged Randy through the front door. Aunt Cher was sitting on the couch, and when Loretta came in towing Randy, she gave Randy an apologetic look. Loretta just glared at Aunt Cher. "You and I are going to talk once Randy is in her room."

Randy was dragged upstairs and practically thrown into her room. "I'm going to talk with Cherubim now," said Loretta haughtily. "I want you packed up and ready to go home by the time I get back. And if you even think of trying to run away, so help me you will be grounded for the rest of your natural life!"

A fresh wave of tears poured down Randy's cheeks. "Mom, please listen to me!"

But Loretta had already slammed the door shut. Randy collapsed on her bed, unable to keep herself standing any longer. She sobbed her heart out, cursing her mother for being so narrow-minded, her Aunt for not being the one to pick her up, and Kaiba just because she could.

When she finally ran out of tears to cry, she relaxed a little. She could hear her mother and her aunt arguing downstairs. She tried to listen to what they were saying, but she couldn't make out the words. Eventually, she gave up and just lay on her bed like a lump. After a while, there was a knock on her door, and Aunt Cher tentatively walked in. "Randy, you awake, Hon'?" she asked.

Randy grunted in response. Aunt Cher closed the door behind her and sat down beside her niece on the bed. "Why weren't you the one to pick me up," asked Randy angrily. "Why did you let mom show up?"

Aunt Cher sighed. "I'm sorry, Kiddo. She was convinced that I had been doing too much for her and insisted on being the one to pick you up. When I tried convincing her to let me pick you up she asked me if I was trying to hide something. I tried calling your cell phone, but you didn't pick up."

Everything her aunt had just said made sense, but Randy wasn't quite ready to forgive her just yet. She hugged her pillow, a stray tear that hadn't made it out with the rest of them sliding down her cheek. Aunt Cher looked pained. "Look, I know I goofed up bad, but I'll make it up to you, I promise."

And with that, she left. Randy wondered vaguely what she meant, but was too exhausted to think too hard about it. She closed her eyes and drifted into a catnap, hoping that Yami would be asleep as well so that she might see him in her dreams, if not in reality. However, she had a feeling that he wouldn't be sleeping right now…

.:.

Yami was having a panic attack. "I've got to get to Cher's house before her mother drives her home!"

Kaiba made a scoffing sound. "And how do you expect to do that, Yami? My limo is back in Domino, this hotel doesn't have shuttle services, and last I checked, you can't fly."

Yami growled in frustration. "There's got to be a way! I'll run there if I have to!"

Bakura rolled his eyes. "Oh for Ra's sake, Pharaoh, just forget about her! There are plenty other fish in the sea, and it's obvious that this one comes with baggage. You might as well just—"

"You don't understand!" Yami furiously interrupted. "She's not just another fish in the sea! She's…she's…special! I can't leave her: I love her!"

Bakura, Kaiba, and Marik stared at him in shock. They definitely hadn't expected the outburst, much less the appearance of the fabled 'L word'. However, Yami didn't give them much time to gawk. He turned to Marik and asked, "Is there a way to contact Randy through our dream connection? Do you still have that mental link with her?"

Marik shook his head. "Not while you're awake, and if you'll recall, you made me disconnect our mental link the day after we got back to Domino."

Yami swore loudly in Egyptian. "I'm going to get to Cher's house if it kills me!"

Suddenly, he heard a loud honking behind him. He whirled around to see a very familiar Volkswagen van. Cher waved out the driver's seat window. A smile grew on his face, and he thanked Ra over and over again in his head. He ran up to the van. "Has Randy left your house yet?"

Cher shook her head. "No, but we don't have much time before they do. Get in."

As Yami got in the front passenger seat, he heard Cher say, "You three coming too?"

Yami turned to see Bakura, Kaiba and Marik standing there with their arms crossed. "You really don't intend to leave us behind, do you Pharaoh?" asked Bakura smirking.

Yami stared at the three men who used to be his bitter enemies. Then he gave a cocky grin and said, "Everyone climb in!"

Once everyone was safely buckled, Cher said, "Hang on to your Millennium Items, I'm about to break a few speed limits!"

And with that, she peeled out of the parking lot, nearly running over a cosplayer in a long red wig and glasses. As she zoomed down the highway, she told the four duelists in her car the situation. "Loretta – that is to say, Randy's mom – has Randy holed up in her room, and insisted that I tell her everything I know, so I did."

Yami's brow furrowed. "And what did she say?"

Cher chuckled darkly. "She thought I was trying to make a fool out of her and yelled at me. Truth be told, she doesn't need my help to make a fool out of her – she does a pretty good job on her own."

Yami felt sorry for Cher. It seemed that Loretta tortured not only her daughter, but her sister as well. He was so grateful that Yugi didn't act like that.

Eventually, they arrived at Cher's house. Everyone heard Bakura mutter, "Very nice…"

Cher turned off the van. "Okay Yami, you know which window. The rest of you, come with me. I don't trust some of you not to steal my stuff."

They all looked at Bakura and he smirked. Yami practically tore the van's door off its hinges and sprinted toward Randy's window. He peeked inside, making sure Randy's mother wasn't in the room. Randy seemed to be asleep on her bed, and her mother was nowhere to be seen. He carefully opened the window and climbed in without making a sound, shutting it behind him. He sat down next to Randy on the bed. She looked so beautiful when she was asleep. He gently brushed a stray wisp of hair from her face.

She suddenly squirmed and muttered, "No, Daddy…" as a tear slid down her face.

Yami felt his heart crack a little. He could see trails of previously cried tears already on her cheeks, and it killed him to think she was hurting in any way. He softly kissed her forehead and said, "Randy, Watashi no Koi, wake up."

Randy's eyes slowly opened, and upon seeing Yami she sat straight up, nearly colliding her own forehead with Yami's. "Yami, you're here!"

He embraced her as she sobbed into his shirt. "Shh, yes, I'm here, it's alright."

When she finally stopped crying, she said, "My mom…she wants me to go home. She probably won't let me go to another convention ever again…"

Yami felt his heart sink. As terrible as Loretta may have been, she was still Randy's mother, and a being of authority. Randy would probably obey her mother, and then he would never see her again except in his dreams.

However, she continued. "But I'm not going. You mean more to me than anything, and I'm not giving you up. Not without a fight."

As Yami stared at Randy, he was suddenly overcome with feelings of passion for this girl who was willing to go against her family for him. He suddenly grabbed her into a tight, desperate hug. "Y-Yami?" Randy said, sounding surprised.

"I can't take it any more," Yami said, his voice trembling. "Randy, you complete me, and I don't think – no, I know for a fact that I can't live without you.

He pulled out of the hug, took her hands and looked deep into her eyes. "Randy, will you come back with me to Domino City?"

.:.:.

Afternote; Dun dun DUN! Mwahaha, I am made of EVIL! I actually felt myself tearing up while writing this chapter! I guess those creative writing classes helped some after all.

So, on to Aki Con 2010 report: Yu-Gi-Oh! vs. Naruto panel! It was actually supposed to be a "Slightly Anime Dating Game" run by my friend, Bakura. But since not very many people showed up, it somehow turned into a Yu-Gi-Oh! vs. Naruto thing. Being dressed as Yugi, I of course participated. Sadly, the Naruto people won. I blame the fact that they had Joey the Yaoi Hunter on their team. He did better pelvic thrusts than we did.

Anyway, see y'all later, and remember: no reviews, no new chapter!

~DaAmazingMeepers=3


	5. Chapter 5: Fighting for Love

Hey y'all! I hoped you missed me, but not too much. The story is really progressing, isn't it? Even I'm excited, and I'm the author! Enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer; I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, or any of the other fandoms mentioned in this story. I am not getting any money out of this; this is just for your and my personal pleasure.

.:.:.

Chapter 5; Fighting for Love

Randy stared at Yami in shock. She had most certainly NOT expected that request. "W-what?"

Yami squeezed her hands. "Randy, if you stay here, your mother won't let us see each other, and I don't think I can take that. Come with me to Domino City, I'm sure Yugi's family won't mind you staying with us!"

Randy started trembling. "But…but what about my friends, my school? What about Aunt Cher, Yami? I won't get to see her again!"

"You can always visit, and you can come to the convention every year! And as for school, we can enroll you in Domino High! You're smart, I know you can do it."

Small tears came to Randy's eyes. "I don't know, Yami…"

Yami pulled her into a hug. "Randy, I know you don't want to leave your current life, but you mother seeing us together changed your life as it is. She's only going to be stricter with you if you stay. I've seen how you act when you talk about your mother, I know it hurts you the way she treats you. I don't want that kind of life for you.

He suddenly pulled out of the hug and looked into her eyes. "However, if you say no, I won't question you. I'll leave, and we can stick with our dream meetings. I'll respect your decision, no matter what."

Now Randy was faced with one of the most important decisions of her life. She thought of the pros and cons of going with Yami. She loved him, she knew this for sure, but was she willing to give up practically everything to stay by his side? If the situation was reversed, would Yami be willing to make the same sacrifices for her? One look into his determined yet hopeful eyes said that yes, he would.

She didn't want to leave Aunt Cher to her mother alone, but she knew that Yami was right, and that her mother would make her life a living hell if she stayed. She thought of her friends back home, and wondered if they would miss her, or wonder where she went. Actually, she didn't consider the people she hung out with at school to be her true 'friends'. Sure, she had known them since elementary school, but she mainly hung out with them just because of that. They didn't really have the same interests as her, and she knew that they had probably called her a geek once or twice behind her back. She knew that if she left they would move on.

She then thought about all of her stuff back at her house. She had never really been one for material things, but there were still things that a girl couldn't live without, like her stuffed animal collection, her stack of CDs, not to mention all her Yu-Gi-Oh memorabilia. Of course, she had brought her iPod and her absolute most favorite stuffed animal with her to Aunt Cher's, not to mention her deck. And who needed the memorabilia when you literally lived in the series?

She stared at Yami, and he stared back. She could see love for her oozing out of every pore of his body. Finally, she made her decision. She took a deep breath and said, "Yami, I love you with every fiber of my being. I don't think I could live without you either. I'll go with you."

Yami grinned a grin so wide that it nearly split his face in half. He hugged her tight and said, "Thank goodness."

She giggled and said, "But what am I going to do about clothes? I only brought my cosplay to wear, and I can't exactly walk around Domino City as the Dark Magician Girl."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Yami said nonchalantly, "You're about Shizuka's size, I'm sure you can borrow from her until you buy some new clothes.

It took Randy a bit to remember that "Shizuka" was Serenity's Japanese name. Suddenly, she heard, "Well, well, what a surprise."

She and Yami whirled around to see Loretta standing in the doorway, crossing her arms.

.:.

Yami wanted to growl at the woman standing in the doorway. The look on her face was a combination of smugness and fury. You could practically feel her angry aura emanating off of her. In the back of his head, Yami knew he should be feeling some fear, or at least nervousness, but all he felt was protectiveness over Randy. He moved a little in front of her, as if to protect her from her mother. Loretta took a step forward. "I knew something was up when I found a bunch of your cosplaying friends in Cherubim's living room, and lo and behold, here you are, trying to steal my daughter away from me. So the story about you is true."

Yami had his game face on – there was no stopping him now. "I'm not trying to steal anything. Randy doesn't belong to you."

Loretta snarled. "Shut up! You're just like every other man in the world! You don't really care about her, she's just another innocent girl to make yours and toss away like a dirty rag!"

"That's not true, and you know it," Yami yelled. "You're just forcing your trauma on Randy, and it's hurting her more than you know!"

Loretta's rage showed white hot on her face. "What do you know about Randy you little punk? You've known her barely a year, and I'm her mother! I know her better than anyone!"

Suddenly, Randy spoke up. "No you don't."

Both Loretta and Yami stared at Randy, one in utter shock, and one in slight surprise. Neither of them had been expecting Randy to speak. Finally, Loretta let out a strangled, "What?"

Randy stepped out from behind Yami, a determined look on her face. "You don't know me at all, mom. Yes, you gave birth to me, and have lived with me all my life, but when it comes to how I feel, you don't know anything about me!"

Loretta's face was rapidly turning red. "Now you listen, young lady—"

Randy stomped her foot. "No mom, you listen! For once just shut up and let me talk!"

Loretta was stunned into silence, and Randy continued. "Yami was completely right mom, I don't belong to you, and you are forcing your trauma on me. You've been doing it all my life and I'm sick of it! Ever since dad left you, all I've heard about is how terrible all men are, even though only one of them ever hurt you! I shouldn't have to suffer the same way you did, and you can't make me stay here!"

Randy's rant ended with her practically screaming, and after it, there was a stone cold silence. Finally, Loretta said in a icy voice, "You think you understand me? You think you can just label me a bad mother just like that? Well I've got some news for you, Andria, if I don't know you, you know me even less. You think you know what it's like to have the one you loved more than anything leave you for some random skank off the street? Do you think you know what it's like to single handedly raise a daughter fearing that she might go through the same pain you did? Do. You. Know. What. That's. Like?"

Tears were streaming down Loretta's face, and Yami suddenly felt a twinge of sympathy for the woman who was trying to tear them apart. He could see the inner torment swirling in her eyes. He shoved the feeling way into the back of his mind. Randy still had a determined look on her face. "You're right," she said quietly. "I don't know what's that like. But that doesn't mean you need to oppress me in order to save me from feeling it. I am my own person, I'll make my own decisions. And my decision is that I'm going with Yami, whether you like it or not."

Loretta glared at her daughter. "We'll see about that," She then turned to Yami. "You're supposed to be the king of games, right? Well how about a duel, you and me. Winner gets Randy."

.:.:.

Afternote; Ugh, this has got to be the shortest chapter I've ever written. I can't help it, this is how the story goes. I do apologize to my readers for making you all wait so long for something this puny. It will get more exciting, I swear!

Convention experiences – the Soul Candy concert. To tell the truth, it wasn't as great as it was in 2009. They have a new member, but it doesn't really add anything to their music. Still, you've got to love an otaku rock group.

That's all for now, and remember – no reviews, no new chapter!

~DaAmazingMeepers=3


	6. Chapter 6: Your Mom Plays Card Games

Hola all! Sorry the last chapter was so short, but hopefully this one will be longer!

Disclaimer; I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, or any of the other fandoms mentioned in this story. I am not getting any money out of this; this is just for your and my personal pleasure.

.:.:.

Chapter 6; Your Mom Plays Card Games

Randy and Yami stared at Loretta in shock. That was the last thing they expected her to say. "Mom, are you saying…?"

Loretta crossed her arms. "I mean Duel Monsters. You call yourself the King of Games? Then duel me. If I win, Randy stays with me, if you win, I won't stop you."

"You know how to play Duel Monsters?" asked Yami incredulously.

Loretta smirked. "Actually, I played it quite a bit before I got married. I stopped when Randy was two after Randy's father said it was a stupid hobby. I've won a few tournaments."

Randy stared in stunned silence. Then Yami stepped forward and said, "Very well, I accept your challenge."

Randy sent a worried look Yami's way. "Yami…"

Yami took Randy's hand. "Randy, if this is the only way that she'll let me take you with me, then I'm taking it."

"I still have to get my old deck ready, so we'll duel tomorrow after breakfast," said Loretta coldly. "You'd better be ready."

She started to leave, but just outside the door, she paused. "Oh, and you two had better not sleep in the same room, or your reproductive organs will be forfeit."

And then she was gone. Randy shuddered at the prospect of her threat. "I can't believe my mother actually played Duel Monsters."

Aunt Cher peeked around the corner. "Is the fire breathing dragon gone?"

Yami shuddered. "That woman makes fire breathing dragons look like bunny rabbits."

Cher shrugged. "Well, she's always been a little uptight, although I never thought she would go to these lengths, breaking out her old deck and everything…"

Randy stared at Cher in shock. "You knew about my mom playing Duel Monsters? Why didn't you ever tell me?"

Cher looked sheepish. "It was so long ago, I didn't think she would pull something like this. And anyway, for a while after Greg – that's your dad, Randy – told her to stop playing, she viewed the game as if Satan himself had invented it."

Randy laughed somewhat hysterically. "This is crazy! After going for so many years thinking my mom knew nothing about anime, I found out she plays the trading card game from my boyfriend's universe? I'm missing the rest of the convention, aren't I?"

It was then that she remembered something, and her eyes widened. "Oh no, Chance and Natalie have no idea what's going on! I need to let them know!"

She quickly pulled out her phone and texted to Natalie, "**Yami and I can't make it to the last days of the convention – family issues.**"

Almost immediately, she got a text back saying, "**U guys OK?**"

"**Yeah, we're fine. Mom's being a b**** about us being together won't let me go back.**" She replied.

"**Oh no! Hugs from both of us! U going 2 be alright?**"

"**I hope so. She challenged Yami to a duel and said if he wins I can go with him to live in Domino. He loses, I have to stay.**"

"**But he's King of Games, so we already know he's going 2 win.**"

"**Tell that to my mom.**"

"**Well tell him I said good luck anyway. I'll have Chance record the anime murder panel for u.**"

"**Thanks so much, Nat. I'll try to come next year.**"

"Randy?" said Yami.

She looked up after sending the last text. "Yeah?"

"I'm going to prepare my deck for tomorrow's duel. I just wanted to say goodnight."

The look in his eyes showed his determination. He had gone into game mode – there was no way he was going to lose this duel. Randy hugged him tight. "Goodnight. Make sure you get some sleep, we can't afford to have you duel half dreaming, can we?"

Yami chuckled. "Don't worry, I'll make sure I see you in my dreams tonight."

She kissed him on the nose and he got up to go to the room that Cher had set up for him. "Oh, and Yami?" said randy before he went around the corner.

He turned to look at her. "Yes?"

She gave him the thumbs up. "Natalie and Chance say good luck tomorrow. Not that you'll need it." She chuckled weakly.

He gave her a little smile, but said, "On the contrary, I'll probably need all the luck I can get."

.:.

Yami had his cards spread all over the floor of the room that Cher had let him use, and was staring intently at them.

After he had gotten back to Domino last year he had given Yugi his deck back and had built himself a new one entirely from scratch. His friends had helped him get some of his favorite cards back, like the Dark Magician, his King, Queen, and Jack's Knights, and various others, but it was mostly cards that he had gotten from booster packs in Grandpa Mutou's shop or traded from other players. It was made up of mostly warriors with some spellcasters thrown in. He was very proud of that deck, but he knew that if he wanted to win this duel, he had to use every last one of his best cards.

Gradually, he started picking up the cards and separating them into four piles – monsters, spells, traps, and the cards he didn't plan on using in his deck. Randy had told him about the synchro monsters that they used in the spin-off of his show and in their dimension, but he had never taken to them. And besides, if Randy's mother hadn't used her deck in fifteen years, he figured there was a good chance she wouldn't be using synchro monsters either.

He was going over his trap cards again when there was a knock on his door, and Cher stepped in. "Going over your deck, huh?" she said with a smile.

Yami nodded, barely bothering to look up. "If Randy's mother is as good as she claims to be, I need to be completely prepared."

Cher squatted down next to him. She whistled upon seeing some of the cards he was holding. "Wow, those are some pretty good cards. I'm jealous."

Yami couldn't help but smirk a little. "Of course, Grandpa Mutou's shop has only the best."

Cher nodded. "I can imagine." Then she put her hand on his shoulder. "Listen, these are all pretty strong cards, but I came to warn you, you won't be able to defeat her with just these cards alone."

This made him look up. "What do you mean?"

Suddenly, a fluffy white mass of hair attached to a person appeared in the doorway. "Hey Cher, I can't find your toothpaste." Bakura smirked. "Oh, hello Pharaoh."

Yami blinked. Bakura was wearing blue pajama pants with kitty faces all over them and no shirt. It looked so strange on him that it was all Yami could do to keep from laughing. He gave Bakura an amused and quizzical look, who rolled his eyes. "Don't laugh, Ryou got them for me and they were the only ones that were clean."

Yami nodded, swallowing the chuckle that was threatening to spill out. "You haven't stolen anything important, have you?"

"Oh please," Bakura scoffed, "Do you really imagine me to be so shallow that I would steal from my host?"

Yami and Cher both said, "Yes." at the same time.

Bakura rolled his eyes muttering, "Ye of little faith."

Cher made a shooing motion. "The toothpaste is in the medicine cabinet on the top shelf, now shoo."

Bakura walked away, making grumbling noises. Yami turned back to Cher. "You were saying?"

"Ah, yes. Loretta has an Egyptian deck, and it's got a very strong monster in there that's very hard to destroy."

Yami stared at her in shock. "An Egyptian deck? What kind of cards does it have in it?"

"Mostly gravekeeper monsters with some Egyptian-looking spells and traps."

She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a card. "This card should help you defeat that monster."

Yami took the card from her and looked at it. It was a trap card – Pyramid of Light. He dropped the card with a look of sheer terror. "Why do you have that card?"

Cher picked up the card and handed it back to him. "Relax, Spiky, this card has a different effect here than it does in your dimension."

He gingerly took the card back from her and read the description. "_If this face-up card is removed from your side of the field, destroy 'Andro Sphinx' and 'Sphinx Teleia' on your side of the field and remove them from play._"

She was right, this definitely had a different effect. He looked back up at her. "So you're saying that she has either Andro Sphinx or Sphinx Teleia?"

She nodded. "You're going to need that card."

Yami looked back at the card, and a feeling of guilt tickled his brain. "Cher, I can't take this."

Cher glared at him. "Oh yes you can! I know your code of card game ethics very well, and I know that you don't like using any cards but your own to defeat an opponent, so I'm giving this to you." He opened his mouth to protest, but she held up a finger to shush him. "Let me finish. You gave cards to your friends all the time in the show and the manga, so why can't you let anyone else give you cards? The answer is, you're too proud. You're too proud to accept help, and if you don't get over this pride, you're going to lose Randy. Now shut up and take the card."

Yami was stunned into silence by her speech. Was he really too proud to accept help from friends? The way she said it, she made him sound like Kaiba or something. Finally, he took a deep breath and smiled. "Alright then, I'll use this card."

Cher smirked. "That's what I thought."

Yami set the card on the pile of trap cards. "I do have one question though."

She raised an eyebrow, signaling him to continue. "Why are you so willing to help me? I'm going up against your own sister. Whether she acts like that or not, she's your family. Are you really willing to help me to such an extent?"

Her face drooped in sadness. "You don't understand. Sure, she's my sister, and I wouldn't give her up for anything, I also know when she's wrong and when I need to side with the opposing force. She needs to understand that what she's been doing and what she's doing right now to Randy is not right, and if siding with you is what I have to do to knock that into her head, then that's what I'm doing. Besides, Randy is my only niece. I want to see her happy if anything else."

She smiled at Yami. "And you're what makes her happy right now."

And with a "Goodnight," she walked out of the room, leaving Yami all by his lonesome. He grinned. Cher had given him the tools and the confidence he needed to win the duel tomorrow. He continued to study his cards for another hour or so before he couldn't keep his eyes open and, at last, he drifted off to sleep. Randy was already waiting for him.

.:.:.

Afternote; Ooh, a duel will be in the next chapter! How exciting! I've never incorporated an actual duel into my fanfics before, so hopefully it won't suck too much. I'll apologize in advance if it bores you to death.

Anyhoo, here's some exciting news, I WENT TO SAKURA-CON! I was in my Yugi costume on Friday and Sunday, and a female Yugi costume on Saturday! The funny thing was, the whole time I was there, I only went to half a panel, and the rest of the time was spent meandering. Still, it was awesome!

See you in the next chapter, and remember; no reviews, no new chapter. Tootles!

~DaAmazingMeepers ^w^


	7. Chapter 7: Game Start!

Hey guys, this is the big chapter! The duel between Yami and Randy's mother! Gee, I wonder who's going to win, herp a derp? Apologies in advance for my lame attempt at a duel!

Disclaimer; I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, or any of the other fandoms mentioned in this story. I am not getting any money out of this; this is just for your and my personal pleasure.

.:.:.

Chapter 7; Game Start!

Upon waking from her dreamtime with Yami, Randy was immediately filled with a sense of tension. There might have been some other feelings in there too, like excitement at the thought of getting to see a real live duel with working duel disks and dread at the thought of her mother being so willing to risk everything on this one card game. Was she really so confident in her dueling skills? What if Yami really did lose?

She shook her head. There was no way that was going to happen. Yami was the king of games for crying out loud! If he couldn't defeat her mother, then his title didn't mean a thing.

There was a knock at her door, and Marik peeked in. "Good morning, your aunt asked me to came and wake you up."

Randy stretched and rubbed her eye sleepily. "Good morning, Marik. Is breakfast ready?"

Marik smirked. "Yes, and extremely tense at that. Your mother is glaring at the Pharaoh, and it doesn't help that Bakura keeps stealing bits of food from everyone else's plates."

Randy groaned. "Well, I suppose I should go down there and attempt to keep something remotely resembling peace."

After shooing Marik out of her room, she got dressed and headed downstairs. She was about to step around the corner and into the kitchen, when she heard her mother's voice say, "Look, I don't care about how much you say you love her, and I don't want to hear it because I don't believe it."

"It doesn't matter if you don't believe it, it's still true." Yami replied.

Randy froze and stood just behind the corner, waiting to see – or rather, hear – what would happen next. Loretta made a very unladylike snorting sound. "Whatever, I just have one question for you – what exactly did you plan on doing with your future if you won?"

There was a long pause, and Randy briefly wondered if he was even going to answer. Then he said, "I don't have a solid plan. I thought maybe I'd go for an Archaeology degree when I graduate from high school and we'd see what happens after that. But just because I don't yet know what I want doesn't mean I won't take good care of Randy. I would never hurt her. Ever."

Randy smiled happily at Yami's prominent love for her. Loretta just said, "Ha, I didn't think you'd have a plan! You men are all—"

There was a loud thump, and Aunt Cher said very firmly, "That's enough. The breakfast table is a peace-zone! And Bakura, get your thieving fingers off my bacon, there's still enough left on the griddle for you to have seconds!"

Randy decided that it was time for her to make her entrance. She rounded the corner to see Aunt Cher holding her plate as far away from Bakura as possible, Yami and Loretta sitting at opposite ends of the table, and Kaiba ignoring the rest of them and eating his food quietly. "But it's so much more fun to steal yours!" Bakura said with a grin.

It was then that Yami noticed Randy walking in. "Oh, Randy, good morning."

Randy walked right up to him and planted a kiss on his forehead, ignoring the look of death she was getting from her mother. "Good morning, Hun."

Yami smiled at her, blushing a little. Aunt Cher handed Randy a plate of eggs and bacon while fending off Bakura from her own food. "Morning, kiddo. Hungry?"

Randy nodded and took the plate. She wasn't sure what to say in such a tense environment, so she just silently shoveled food into her mouth. The awkward silence was killing her! On the other hand, it was quite entertaining watching Aunt Cher and Bakura battle it out for bacon. In fact, her aunt seemed to be having more fun with her friends than she herself was. The fangirl in her briefly wondered if her aunt and Bakura might end up together, but she quickly shot that idea down at the thought of having Bakura for an uncle.

Eventually she couldn't put off finishing her food any longer, and she set her plate into the sink to be rinsed off later. The moment she had done this, her mother stood up. "You ready?" she asked Yami.

Yami nodded gravely. "Kaiba, do you have an extra duel disk Mrs. Henderson can use?"

Kaiba pulled out his briefcase and opened it. Inside was a brand new duel disk. Marik appeared in the doorway and raised an eyebrow. "You keep your briefcase with you during breakfast?" he asked.

"Shut up, Ishtar." Said Kaiba.

Loretta took the duel disk gingerly and turned it over in her hands. "How do you use the thing?" she asked incredulously.

Aunt Cher held up her hands in protest. "Woah, hold it, not in here! Put it on outside, I don't want you accidentally turning it on and breaking something!"

Loretta rolled her eyes. "Oh please, Cherubim, they're holograms. How are they supposed to break anything?"

"You'd be surprised," muttered Bakura, and Randy chuckled, remembering the story that Yami had told her of how Bakura had broken Ryou's television set when he accidentally turned on his duel disk in the apartment. Ryou had locked him out of the apartment for a week.

Loretta scoffed. "Fine, let's just get this over with."

They all headed outside, and Kaiba showed Loretta how to put the duel disk on her arm and which buttons to push. At last, they were ready. Randy felt her chest tighten up. This was it; this was the duel that would decide it all. Would she be free to be with Yami, or would she be forced to never see him again?

.:.

Yami felt his resolve strengthen as he ro-sham-bo'ed with Loretta to see who would take the first turn (of course he won). He turned on his duel disk and cast a glance at Randy, who was standing with Kaiba, Bakura, Marik, and Cher off to the side. She looked worried, but she also looked like she believed in him. He smiled. Actually, he was more worried for her, considering she was standing among the three people who had caused him the most trouble in the past, not including Pegasus.

But he didn't have time to worry about that right now, he had to focus on the duel. He drew his cards and carefully studied his hand. After much thought, he said, "I place a card face down and summon the Celtic Guardian to the field."

As the holograms appeared, Loretta stared at them in awe. "Impressive." She said.

"I end my turn." Said Yami.

Loretta shook herself out of her amazed stupor and drew a card. "I place two cards face down, and I summon Agido and end my turn."

Yami drew a card and looked calculatingly at her half of the field. He remembered Ishizu having Agido. It had a higher attack than the Celtic Guardian, so he assumed she was being wary of his face down card. However, he knew that there was too much at stake for him to be cautious. "I place another card face down, and I summon Neo the Magic Swordsman who then attacks Agido."

As his monster moved to attack hers, she yelled, "Not so fast, I activate a trap card, Ordeal of a Traveler!"

Yami growled as the swordsman halted his attack. "What does that do?" he asked.

Loretta smirked. "Every time you declare an attack, you have to pick one of the cards in my hand and guess whether it's a monster, spell, or trap card. If you guess right, your attack continues. If not, the attack is negated. Well, care to try your luck?"

Yami smirked back. "I don't need to! I activate Remove Trap! Your Ordeal of the Traveler is no more, and Neo can continue his attack!"

Loretta gritted her teeth. "Not if I can help it! I activate Magic Drain and use it to take out your spell card!"

Yami pointed at her. "Hold it, that card's effect also states that I can discard one spell card from my hand to negate the effects of that card," he said, placing a card in the graveyard, "And I do just that! Both of your traps are negated and my monster destroys yours."

Neo the Magic Swordsman zapped Agido with a bolt of lightning and Agido exploded in a puff of holographic smoke. Randy and Cher stood shocked on the sidelines. "All of that in one turn…" Cher said in amazement.

"That's normal for one of his duels." Kaiba grunted.

Loretta snarled at Yami as she drew her next card. After glancing at it, she said, "I place a card face down, and a monster in face down defense. End turn."

Yami drew a card and looked warily at the monster card. What was that card? Surely it couldn't be a Morphing Jar, or a Man Eater Bug. Neither of those were very Egyptian-like. Then again, who knew with this woman? And then there was the trap or spell card to worry about. Should he play it safe, or just attack?

It was then that Loretta happened to glance down at her lifepoints, and upon seeing the number she yelled, "What the crap? How can I already be in the three-thousands?"

Yami looked at her in confusion. She had only lost two hundred lifepoints, so what was she complaining about? Then Randy yelled from the sidelines, "Mom, they start at four thousand, not eight thousand!"

Loretta stared at her daughter in shock. "What? That's ridiculous! What kind of stupid rule is that?"

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "With all due respect, Mrs. Henderson, you're using our Duel Disk, and therefore you're playing by our rules. Deal with it."

Loretta glared at Kaiba, and then she just growled, turned to Yami and said, "Whatever, just take your stupid turn."

Yami's eyes narrowed. This woman was a real brat. He glanced at his cards. "I place a card face down and…Neo attacks your facedown monster."

As his monster moved to attack, she flipped it over. "Sorry, but my monster is Golem Sentry, and his defense is higher than your monster's attack! Your monster goes into defense mode!"

The spellcaster backed off. Yami gritted his teeth, knowing he couldn't do anything about it. "I end my turn."

Loretta drew a card and said, "I place a monster card face down and I use Golem Sentry's effect to flip him into face down defense again. I end my turn."

Drawing a card, Yami once again, glanced at Loretta's side of the field. Now he knew what that first card was, but what about the other one? And why had she flipped her Golem Sentry back the way it was? Did it have a flip effect? He was definitely going to start being more cautious. "I place a card face down, then I sacrifice the Celtic Guardian to summon Judge Man. End turn."

Loretta smirked at him. Playing it safe now, huh? Big mistake." She drew a card. "I place another monster in face down defense, and I flip summon Golem Sentry, activating its effect and sending Judge Man back to your hand. Your turn."

Judge Man vanished from the field. Yami frowned and drew a card. "I summon Twin-Sword Marauder and end my turn."

Drawing a card, she examined his side of the field. "I place a card facedown and sacrifice my facedown monster to summon Criosphinx. I also flip Golem Sentry facedown again. End turn"

He drew a card. What was this woman thinking? Her monster had less attack than his, even if it was a higher level. What was she planning? One thing for sure, he had to get rid of that Golem Sentry. "I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight, and Twin-Sword Marauder attacks your Criosphinx."

"Not so fast," she said. "I activate Waboku!"

Yami's warrior halted its attack. Yami growled in frustration. "I end my turn."

She drew a card. "I flip summon Golem Sentry again, and send Gearfried back to your hand. And because a card returned to your hand, Criosphinx's effect states that you must select a card in your hand and discard it to the graveyard."

Yami looked down at his hand. In it was, of course, Gearfried, and also Judge Man, Drop Off, and Raregold Armor. After thinking carefully, he discarded Raregold Armor. "Very well, do you end your turn?"

She nodded. He drew a card. He smiled at the sight of a familiar friend in his hand. "I place a card facedown, and I sacrifice Neo the Magic Swordsman and Twin-Sword Marauder to bring out Dark Magician!"

As the spellcaster materialized, Loretta took a step back in surprise. "So soon…" she muttered in shock.

"Dark Magician attacks your Golem Sentry! Now he can no longer send monsters back to my hand!"

Golem Sentry disappeared in a flash of negative colors. Loretta shielded her eyes against the brightness with her arm. "It's your move." Said Yami solemnly.

Glaring, she drew a card. "I place a card facedown, then I sacrifice my facedown monster, which was Sand Moth, to summon Guardian Sphinx. Sand Moth has the effect that if it is sent to the graveyard not by battle when it's in defense, it is brought back to the field with its attack and defense switched. End turn."

He drew a card, looking curiously at her side of the field. "Did she just forget to put her monsters into defense mode? Or did she have a different purpose for leaving them as is? Maybe something that had to do with that facedown card? "I place a card facedown, and Dark Magician attacks your Criosphinx." Criosphinx exploded, and Loretta's lifepoints dropped to 2500. "I end my turn." Said Yami."

She drew a card. "I activate Tribute to the Doomed, meaning I can discard a card from my hand, and your Dark Magician is destroyed."

Dark magician disappeared, Yami watching sadly. "Do you end your turn? He asked.

"Yes." She said with a smirk at his obvious sorrow.

He drew a card. "I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight once again to the field, and I end my turn."

She drew a card. "I sacrifice Guardian Sphinx to summon a monster in facedown defense and end my turn."

He drew a card. "I summon Queen's Knight and end my turn."

She moved to draw a card, but Yami suddenly yelled, "Stop!"

She froze. "What?"

He grinned. "I activate my trap card, Drop Off! Now you have to discard the card you were just about to draw."

She snarled and added the card to her graveyard. "In that case, Sand Moth attacks your Queen's Knight, and I end my turn."

Sand Moth slashed Queen's Knight right down the middle, and the feminine monster was no more. Yami was down to 3500 lifepoints. He drew a card. "I place a card facedown and end my turn.

She drew a card. "I place a card facedown and summon a monster in facedown defense. End turn."

He drew a card. "I sacrifice Gearfried to summon Judge Man again. End turn."

She drew a card, and suddenly smirked. "Heh, I just sealed your fate, and drew the exact card I need."

Yami took a step back in shock. "What?"

"Oh yes," she said. "I sacrifice all three of my monsters to bring out Andro Sphinx!"

The monster that Anubis had used against Yami so many years ago appeared on the field and gave a fearsome roar. _'She's already summoned her most powerful monster,'_ thought Yami in frustration, _'How am I supposed to defeat her?'_

.:.:.

Afternote: Zomahgoodness, what is Yami going to do now? Sorry if this is horrible, but this is the first time I've ever attempted to fabricate a duel, and it's a LOT harder than I thought! Luckily for me, we've reached half of the the climax with this chapter. The duel will be over by the end of the next chapter. I'm totally going to miss this story.

Anyway, how about a round of con experiences; the Yu-Gi-Oh! gender bender panel! I went as female Yugi, obviously, but there was a major flaw in my costume – mainly my shoes. Sure, they looked awesome, but I made the mistake of not bringing my regular Yugi costume with me and having to wear four-inch heels for all of Saturday. My feet were begging for mercy by the time I went back to my friend's house! Oh the pains of being a woman.

Well, that's all for now, see y'all later, and remember – no reviews, no new chapter!

~DaAmazingMeepers =3


	8. Chapter 8: Defeater or Defeated?

Hey y'all, I hath returned! Sorry again in advance for the sucky duel you're about to witness. I've actually been sick lately with a cold and a fever, possibly strep throat, so I've had more time to work on this. Hope I didn't do too bad!

Disclaimer; I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, or any of the other fandoms mentioned in this story. I am not getting any money out of this; this is just for your and my personal pleasure.

.:.:.

Chapter 8; Defeater or Defeated?

Randy's heart constricted as she watched her mother summon Andro Sphinx. The holographic creature was so massive and frightening, how could Yami defeat this? _'It's okay,'_ she tried to tell herself, _'He's defeated worse. Heck, he's beaten this card before! He can pull through.'_

But then the little doubting voice in her head (that wasn't Marik) muttered, _'But he was able to use Kaiba's Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon then. Now he has nothing.'_

Randy squeezed her eyes shut, trying to mentally block out her doubting voice. All of a sudden, she heard Kaiba say, "Stop it."

She looked at him in surprise. "W-what?"

He was glaring at her. "You started dating him knowing something like this would happen, right? Then quit doubting his ability and watch the duel. If you know so much about him from that stupid anime of yours, then you should know that there's no way he's going to lose. Now quit closing your eyes like a coward and stand proud."

She stared at him for a bit, and then she grinned. Despite his gruff and somewhat rude way of saying it, he was trying to comfort her. And of course, he was absolutely right; she wasn't putting enough faith in Yami. He was the King of Games, and he was going to win this thing. "Thanks." She said.

Kaiba just grunted. Meanwhile, Loretta called to Yami, "Well, Pharaoh, are you going to make your move? I can't attack the moment I first summon Andro Sphinx, it's your turn."

Yami bit his lip and reached for a card. Despite her confidence in him, Randy knew he was nervous. She should see a sweat drop trickle down his cheek. She could also see him calculating a strategy to overcome the situation.

"I activate Spell Economics, meaning that I don't have to pay any lifepoints to activate a spell card, and…I end my turn."

After drawing a card, she smirked. "I place a card face down and Andro Sphinx attacks your Judge Man!"

One swipe of the sphinx's giant claws and Yami's monster was no more. Yami was now down to 2700 lifepoints: still higher than Loretta's, but still very alarming when she had a monster with 3000 attack. "I end my turn!" she called mockingly to him.

Randy glared at her mother. She knew that Loretta thought this duel was in the bag. She had never wanted to punch her mother before, but she sure enough wanted to now. Yami wearily drew a card, and then he perked up a bit. "I activate Swords of Revealing Light!"

Three swords made of blinding rays of light fell from the sky and surrounded Loretta's monster. Loretta cursed as she watched them settle. "Fine, you're safe for three more turns, but you're only buying time until you lose. My turn!"

She drew a card. "Heh, guess I don't have anything to set down. I end my turn. Two more turns until you're finished."

Yami drew a card. "I summon Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke and end my turn."

Randy looked at him worriedly. He had all five of his spell and trap spots filled up. Surely he could use one of those four facedown cards to defeat her mother. Or did he have a different plan for them? Suddenly, she heard Bakura chuckle. "Oh boy, the pharaoh's really got himself in a pickle now, doesn't he?"

She looked at him. "What do you mean?"

Bakura sent a little smirk her way. "There are only two reasons a person will fill up all of their spell and trap spots: one, they have an incredibly complex strategy planned out and are waiting for a specific time to use it, or two, as I suspect, he has no clue what he's going to use them for and is either trying to scare his opponent or get cards out of his hands."

Randy frowned at him. "He's got to have a strategy, he wouldn't be him if he didn't."

Bakura shrugged. "I didn't say he wasn't going to win, I just said he's in trouble."

Randy watched her mother confidently draw a card. _'As if I didn't know that…'_ she thought.

Looking briefly at the card she drew, she smirked and said, "I place a card facedown and end my turn."

Yami drew a card. "I sacrifice Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke to summon Neo Aqua Madoor and end my turn."

Now Randy was very worried. Why wasn't Yami using any of the spell or trap cards he had laid down? Surely he could do something with them while her mother was trapped under the effects of the Swords of Revealing Light. What was holding him back? Loretta drew a card. "I activate Hammer Shot!"

Yami's eyes got wide. "Oh no!"

Loretta smirked. "Oh yes. This means I can destroy the only monster you have on the field, and now you have no protection!"

A giant wooden mallet came out of the sky and crushed Yami's monster. Randy winced at the sight of the spellcaster's hand sticking out from under the mallet and twitching before both it and the mallet disappeared. "Well," called Loretta gleefully, "I end my turn, and this means the Swords of Revealing Light are done! There isn't anything you can do to turn this around, admit it!"

Sure enough, the shining swords vanished, and Andro Sphinx gave a loud roar. Randy turned to look at Yami, and froze. She knew that look in his eyes – he only got it when he was doubting himself. She brought her hands up to her mouth and practically screamed, "Yami!"

He looked at her in surprise, and she called, "Don't give up! I know you can do this, I believe in you!"

She could feel her mother's glare drilling into the side of her head, but she ignored it. Yami blinked, took a deep breath, and then gave her the thumbs up. Randy beamed. She knew that whatever happened next, Yami would be the one victorious. Yami reached to draw a card, and Randy closed her eyes and thought as hard as she could, _'Heart of the cards, if you really exist, please help Yami out a little bit!'_

Dramatically, Yami drew the card, and looked at it. Then he smirked. At the sight of his smirk, Marik stared to wander off. "Where are you going?" asked Aunt Cher.

"It's obvious that the duel is over," said Marik, "I'm going to set up the portal so that it's ready when he finishes."

As if to confirm Marik's words, Yami called out, "Mrs. Henderson, it's over. I just drew the exact card I needed to defeat you."

.:.

The look of surprise on Loretta's face didn't last long. "Don't be ridiculous, what could one card do that you haven't already tried to do? My Andro Sphinx is unstoppable!"

"But it's not just one card. Every card I placed on this field is part of a plan that I had created to bring you down."

Off to the side, he heard Randy say, "Ha, I told you!" to which Bakura replied grumpily, "No you didn't."

Loretta took a step back. "You're bluffing."

"Oh am I," asked Yami with a grin, "Well then let me show you what I had in mind."

He flipped a card on the field over. "First, I activate Pyramid of Light."

Loretta's eyes got wide as the sparkling pyramid appeared above their heads. "H-how did you—" and then realizing what must have happened, she turned angrily to Cher and yelled, "Cherubim, how could you?"

Cher winced. "Sorry sis, but it was the right thing to do."

"Next," Yami called, "I activate Brain Control, and use it to control your Andro Sphinx."

The sphinx disappeared from Loretta's side of the field and reappeared on Yami's side. Now Loretta was starting to look nervous. "So what are you going to do, attack me directly?"

Yami chuckled. "Not quite." He pulled the card he had drawn out of his hand. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon, and its target is Pyramid of Light!"

A huge whirlpool appeared, and a lightening bolt came out of the middle of it and zapped the pyramid, causing it to vanish. "And because Pyramid of Light was destroyed," Yami continued, "Andro Sphinx is also destroyed."

Sure enough, with one last mighty roar, Andro Sphinx exploded in a flash of holographic smoke. Yami could tell that Loretta was starting to panic. "Fine," she said, "So you destroyed my Andro Sphinx, that doesn't mean you've defeated me!"

Yami smirked. "But I'm not done yet," he said, and flipped over another one of his facedown cards. "I activate Monster Reborn, and use it to bring back Dark Magician!"

Once again, his faithful friend appeared on the field and turned to look at its controller. Yami smiled. "Welcome back, old friend."

He then pointed at Loretta. "Dark Magician, attack her directly with your dark magic attack!"

As the spellcaster went to attack, Loretta yelled, "H-hold it! I activate Ordeal of a Traveler!"

Yami cursed in his head as Dark Magician halted its attack. _'She had more than one?'_ he thought.

She held up her hand, smiling slightly. "Well, you know the effect. Choose a card."

Yami stared at the cards. He knew that if he blew this one, he could quite possibly ruin everything. He looked over at Randy, the girl whom he loved and who believed in him. She looked worried, but she also looked determined. If she knew he could do this, then he did too. He turned back to Loretta and closed his eyes. Then, very decidedly, he pointed at her hand. "The card on your left. It's a monster card."

Loretta's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "H-how did you do that?"

Yami grinned. He had guessed correctly! "I figured if you and your daughter were anything alike, you would both hold your cards in your hand in the order of 'monsters, then spells, then traps'. Looks like I was right. And because I was right, your trap card is negated, and Dark Magician can continue his attack!"

Dark Magician held up his hand and hit Loretta directly with a blast of dark magic, causing her to scream in despair and her lifepoints to drop to zero. "You lose," said Yami, "And Randy gets to come with me."

Loretta fell to her hands and knees. "N-no, I can't believe I lost…" she muttered in anguish.

Suddenly, Yami heard Randy call, "Yami!"

He turned to face her, and before he could react she tackled him to the ground and was kissing him so hard he could feel her teeth scrape against his. He returned the kiss eagerly and they just stayed like that for almost two minutes. Eventually, Randy broke the kiss off. "That was amazing!" she said breathlessly.

Yami smiled at his beloved. "I was only able to pull it off because you believed in me."

Randy blushed happily, and then got off of him carefully, helping him up as she did. She then looked at her mother, who hadn't moved. She walked toward the woman who had raised her all her life, whom she was now abandoning. "Mom…" she said quietly.

"Get out of here." Said Loretta sharply.

Randy winced at the tone of her mother's voice, and Loretta looked up at her daughter. Her eyes were hard and cold. "Go on, go through that stupid portal with your stupid anime character boyfriend and his stupid card games. Just know this – you're not my daughter, and if I ever see you again, I'll say as such."

Yami couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was Loretta really disowning her only child over a card game? Evidently, Randy couldn't believe it either. The look on her face was the equivalent to if Yami had told her that him and Yugi were hooking up and that he had a new job involving kicking puppies and kittens. "M-mom…" she said, her voice warbling with the tears that were sure to come soon.

"I said go!" Loretta yelled.

Randy flinched, but she didn't protest again. Instead, she turned around and walked back to Yami, a anguished but determined look on her face. "Let's go." She said, taking Yami's hand.

Yami followed her as she walked toward the portal that Marik had by now finished setting up. Cher gave a heartbroken look to Randy. "Oh, honey, I—"

Randy shook her head. "Don't say anything." She said.

Cher nodded and gave her one last hug goodbye. Kaiba handed her duffle bag, which he had grabbed from her room while she was kissing Yami, to her, and she nodded her thanks at him. After Bakura and Kaiba had gone through the portal, Randy took one last look behind her at her aunt and mother, and stepped through the portal as well. Before Yami stepped through, turned and said coldly to Loretta, "I hope you're happy." but when Loretta said nothing in reply, he stepped through the portal as well.

The moment he set foot in his own dimension, Randy collapsed against him and sobbed her heart out.

.:.:.

Afternote: Blaaaaah, please disregard this crap chapter! Oh wait, you can't, it's the climax…um, well, never mind then… Man, I didn't intend to make Randy's mom so cruel when I first wrote her, but somehow she turned out like this! Well, you know how OCs are, once you create them, they take on a life of their own. The next chapter is the final chapter in this story, and probably in the whole CONfusion saga. I can't believe it's going to be over soon! Unless, of course, I get people asking me to write follow-up stories, and I have enough ideas… There's going to be a oneshot focusing on Ryou published soon, so stay tuned.

Anyhoo, I really don't have any more conventions stories at the moment…oh, except that I finally found a Yami to my Yugi! Her wig was so much better than mine, but I had the better puzzle! Speaking of which, I have a new one, so my old one is for sale. If you're interested in buying it, send me a message! My starting price is $15, but I'm willing to negotiate the price. There's a picture of it on my deviantArt account under "Cosplay" if you want to see what it looks like.

Well, see you for the last chapter, and remember, reviews help this sickly author to get better again!

~DaAmazingMeepers =3


	9. Chapter 9: One Year Later

Hey guys, it's finally the last chapter! So this is the end, huh? I'm gonna get all emotional if I'm not careful! Enjoy!

Disclaimer; I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, or any of the other fandoms mentioned in this story. I am not getting any money out of this; this is just for your and my personal pleasure.

.:.:.

Chapter 9: One Year Later…

Cher tapped her foot impatiently. She knew that Randy, Yami and their friends weren't late, far from it in fact. She had just never been one for waiting, especially if it involved her only niece whom she hadn't seen in a year.

After five more minutes of toe tapping and practically jumping up and down with impatience, a portal finally opened up to her left. She scootched toward it excitedly just as Yami stepped through the portal and helped Randy through. Randy beamed happily at her aunt. "Aunt Cher!" she said happily, hugging her.

Cher squeezed back twice as hard, making Randy almost choke. "Ooh, I missed you so much! You have to fill me in on all the details of your life in Domino on our way to the convention!" Then she lit up. "Oh, but before that, there's someone I want you to meet!"

As Cher made a mad dash for the house, Randy giggled and held Yami's hand. "It seems like she's gotten more child-like since we last saw her."

Suddenly, from behind them, Bakura's annoyed voice came from the other side of the portal. "Excuse me, love birds, I don't mean to interrupt your reminiscing, but you're blocking the portal!"

Randy and Yami apologetically moved out of the way, and Bakura, Ryou, Yugi, Anzu and Marik stepped through. Yugi and Anzu were still happily dating, and were planning on buying an apartment together soon. Ryou and Bakura's modeling career had hit a peak, and Bakura had dropped out of school. And Marik…well, the author doesn't really care about him.

"About bloody time," grumbled Bakura, "Who did you think you were, Easter Island statues?"

"Now cut that out," said Ryou, putting a hand on Bakura's shoulder, "They didn't mean to block our path."

Marik closed the portal just as Cher dragged a sheepish-looking man through her back door and ran back to where everyone was. He had short scruffy blond hair, the brightest blue eyes Randy had ever seen, and a five-o'-clock shadow on his chin. He was a good deal taller than…well, everyone. Randy figured he had to be at least six feet tall. His height definitely contrasted with Cher's five-foot-four height. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend of four months, Gabe," said Cher happily, "Gabe, this is my niece, Randy, her boyfriend, and her cosplaying friends."

Gabe scratched the back of his head and said, "Eheh, hi…"

Randy's grin grew to fill her face. "Oh my gosh, Aunt Cher, that's great!"

"But that's not the best part." Cher said with a grin.

Gabe scratched his chin, examining the duelists. "Wow, your costumes are all pretty good. Yu-Gi-Oh is one of my favorites. What did you use to make your staff, Randy?"

Randy looked down at her Dark Magician Girl costume, and then appreciatively up at Cher. "Wow, an otaku too! You scored big time, auntie of mine."

Randy explained to Gabe her process of making the staff, and when she was finished, Cher pulled Randy aside. "Listen, Randy, there's—"

"Hey, Cher," Bakura interrupted, "When are we gonna leave? I didn't come here to watch you two chatter away."

Cher rolled her eyes and yelled back at Bakura, "Keep your pants on, Fluffy! Good grief, this is important!"

Randy raised an eyebrow. "What's important?"

"Well…there's someone else in the house who wants to talk to you," said Cher, looking very uncomfortable. "Someone who you might not appreciate talking to so much."

Randy looked worried. "It's not that freaky puzzleshipping fangirl from last year, is it? Because she said she was going to track me down, but I didn't think she'd actually—"

"No, nothing like that," Cher laughed, cutting off Randy before she started babbling. Then she returned to being serious. "But you might want to come in the house."

She then turned to Yami. "You should come too, Spiky."

Yami raised an eyebrow. "Oh, um, okay."

Cher led them morosely to the house. "Okay, seriously Aunt Cher, you're making me worried now," said Randy. "What's going on?"

But Cher just shook her head. "You'll see."

Randy and Yami exchanged glances. They followed Cher into the house and then into the living room. Then Cher stopped them and said, "Alright, come on in."

A person stepped through the arch that connected the living room with the game room. Randy gasped and Yami took a step back. Then Randy's eyes grew cold and hard. "So, we meet again, woman. Or should I call you 'mother'?"

.:.

Now Yami was really nervous and tense. He had already been a little nervous for his own reasons, but now that he saw the look that Randy was giving her mother, he was mentally preparing for an emotional hurricane with lots of screaming and insults being thrown everywhere.

Sensing what Randy was about to do, he grabbed her around the waist and kept her from going right up to her mother and slapping her across the face. "What, disowning me wasn't enough, now you've come here to rub it in my face?" she spat.

Loretta flinched at the tone of Randy's voice. She no longer resembled the strong, angry woman that Yami remembered her to be. She had large bags under her eyes, her hair was unkempt, and she kept wringing her hands. She looked very skittish, like anything would send her packing. In short, she was a former shell of herself.

"N-no," she said quietly, "That's n-not what I'm here for."

Randy was still struggling against Yami's grip on her. "Then what are you here for?" she yelled. "What else could you possibly break my heart with? Because I have to say, I don't think there's much else you can do!"

Loretta flinched again, and looked like she would rather be anywhere but there, in front of the daughter she had shunned a year ago. But still she stood there and played with the hem of her shirt until Randy had quieted down a bit. Then she said so quietly that Yami almost missed it, "I'm sorry."

Randy froze. Then she gently removed Yami's grip on her and crossed her arms. "You want to say that louder so I can make sure I heard you right?"

Loretta swallowed, and then said, "I-I know that I'm probably the worst mother in the world. I acted like a spoiled five-year-old who wasn't getting her way, and that was wrong of me. I was trying so hard to prevent you from feeling the heartache that I felt that I didn't realize how much I was hurting you. I've done you and your…boyfriend so much wrong, I wouldn't be surprised if you both hated me."

She looked back up at Randy, who still hadn't moved. "But I've changed. I'm not the selfish woman I was before. I'm not trying to make excuses, I know nothing can excuse what I did. All I can ask for is your forgiveness and mercy. So please forgive me, because I don't think I can handle losing my only daughter again."

The silence in that room after Loretta's monologue was so thick you could probably have cut off a slice and eaten it. Randy just stood there, seemingly analyzing her mother who seemed to be shrinking into herself under Randy's scrutinizing stare. For a second, Yami wondered if she was going to say anything at all. Then she said, "You're right. What you did was extremely selfish and cruel."

Loretta's eyes got wide. "R-Randy—"

"Let me finish." Randy interrupted her, and Loretta closed her mouth. "You have no idea how depressed I was after I stepped through that portal. I kept wondering if I had really done the right thing, or if I was a bad daughter. If Yami hadn't been there to keep me sane…well, I don't know what would have happened. You quite literally abandoned me, and it almost killed me."

Loretta hung her head in shame.

"But…" Randy continued, and Loretta looked up in surprise. Tears were filling Randy's eyes. "You're still my mother, and I love you, no matter what you've done to me. I don't think it's possible for me to hate you. I forgive you."

Now tears were coming to Loretta's eyes, and she reached out and embraced her daughter, sobbing uncontrollably and saying over and over again, "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…"

They sank to the floor, both of them with tears streaming down their cheeks. Yami smiled, feeling his eyes moisten. He had always secretly hoped Randy would make peace with her mother, but every time he had brought it up, she had always become extremely depressed. He thought that the scene he was witnessing was almost the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

When Randy and her mother were finally done crying and stood up, Loretta turned her gaze on Yami. He shuffled around uncomfortably. "I owe an apology to you too, Yami," Said Loretta, smiling at him. "I seriously misjudged you. It looks like you've taken good care of my daughter, and I trust you now. Please continue to take care of my daughter."

Yami was happy that he now had Loretta's approval, but it reminded him of why he had been so nervous that morning. He turned to Randy and said, "That reminds me, Randy, I have something to ask you."

Randy blinked. "Well, ask then."

Yami swallowed. He could feel a trickle of cold sweat run down the back of his neck. "Well…first of all, I want to say that you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I never truly realized what it was like to be alive until I met you. You're beautiful, courageous, smart, and every day my love for you grows stronger."

Randy smiled. "Are you trying to butter me up? Not that it isn't working…"

Yami shook his head. "No, I…" He chuckled and ran his hands through his hair. "Oh ra, this is harder than I thought."

"What's harder than you thought?" Randy asked curiously. "Don't leave me hanging."

Yami sighed. "I'm just going to come right out and say it," he said, and reached into his jacket pocket. "Randy, I know we haven't been dating very long at all – only two years. But I quite seriously don't think I can live without you. I was going to wait until we were at the convention, but…"

He got down on one knee and Randy gasped as he held up a velvet-covered box with a small engagement ring inside. "Randy, Watashi no Koi, please marry me."

Once again, tears came to her eyes, but this time they were tears of joy. "Y-you're really asking what I think you're asking, aren't you?"

Yami nodded nervously. He felt if he tried to say anything his throat would close up. "Yami…" Randy said emotionally. "Nothing would make me happier than to marry you."

Without any warning, Yami stood up, swept Randy off her feet, twirled her around and kissed her. Cher whooped as Yami put the ring on Randy's finger, and Loretta had her hands over her mouth and was crying again. "My baby's getting married!" she sobbed.

Suddenly, from the other side of the door they heard, "Ha! I told you! Now pay up!"

Everyone turned to see Anzu excitedly and Bakura begrudgingly hand ¥500 to Yugi and Ryou. "Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?" asked Yami, highly amused.

Yugi grinned sheepishly at Yami. "Well, yesterday I told Bakura and Anzu that I thought you were going to propose to Randy today before we left Cher's house, and Ryou agreed with me. But Anzu thought that you were going to do it after the convention, and Bakura thought you were going to lose your nerve and not propose at all. Marik didn't care about it enough to place a bet."

Yami gave Bakura a look. "Nice to see you have so much faith in my nerves."

Bakura shrugged. "Well, you've gone soft since you started seeing that girl."

Yami was about to flip him the bird, but Randy stopped him. "Oh come on you two, what matters is that he did propose to me, and I'm glad he did."

There was much congratulating to the now engaged couple, and then Cher said, "Well, we should probably get you guys to the convention if you don't want to miss the opening ceremony."

Everyone packed into Cher's van and they set off, making wedding plans, and telling each other everything that had happened in the last year. Eventually, they came to the convention, which looked even more packed than it had last year. "See you guys later," called Cher, waving. "Gabe and I will pick y'all up around midnight. Sound good?"

Randy nodded and waved back. "Bye Aunt Cher, nice meeting you, Gabe."

Gabe waved as well. "You too, and congrats!"

And with that, they drove off. Randy and Yami turned to face the convention's entrance. Everyone else had already run ahead of them to get their badges. Randy took Yami's hand. "Funny, it seems like only yesterday that I met you and was freaking out over knowing an anime character."

Yami chuckled and squeezed her had affectionately. And it seems like only yesterday that I was defending you against an unruly drunken cosplayer."

She laughed. "I had forgotten about that. Time really flies when you're with the one you love."

Yami nodded. "And now we get to face time together for the rest of our lives."

Randy smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek. "That's the best way anyone can live out their lives."

And with that, the couple walked bravely on to the first day of the rest of their lives.

.:.:.

Afternote: And thus concludes the story and the series. Oh my goodness, I can't believe it's actually over! I first posted CONfusion on the fourteenth of November in 2008. Now here I am finishing the sequel three years later. It's absolutely crazy! I want to say thank you so much to all of my reviewers for sticking with me through every crap-chapter I posted (and don't try to tell me that none of my chapters were crap, I know better), through every bout of writer's block, and for those of you who actually bother to read these boring notes, thank you for caring enough.

I also want to thank everyone who ever drew me fanart of the CONfusion series – all five of you! You don't know how much that means to me!

Well, see you in the next fic, and thank you all once again!

~DaAmazingMeepers =3


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